Improvement in sewing-machine shuttles



T. J. HALLIGAN.

Sewing Machine Shuttle.

No. 39,567. Patented Aug. 18,#863.

' ZW f/M2M Kif@ N m/ZM/ UNITED STATES THOMAS J. HALLIGAN, or NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN SEWING-MACHINE SHUTTLES.

Specification forming part of' Letters Patent No. 39,567, dated August 18, 186:5.

To all whom it may concern: Y

Be n; known that l, THOMAS J. HALLIGAN,

' ofl New York, in the county7 and State ot' New this specification, in which-.-

Figure 1 is a perspective view, showing the interior arrangement of my improved shuttle. Figi), is a sideviewof Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through Fig. 2, taken in the plane a: x. tion through Fig. 3, taken at the point indicated by red vline y y. Figs. 5 and 6 represent a modification of the shuttle of Figs. 1,2, 3, and 4.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to an improvement in the construction of shuttles which are to be usedin machines for sewing leather, Sto., the object of which is to enable me to use waxed thread Without liability 'of scraping oit the wax therefrom, and also to obtain a uniformity of tension, as will be hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention,-I will describe its construction and operation.

ln leather-sewi11g-machine shuttles hitherto used two objections exist-viz., the waxed thread which itjis necessary to use in these shuttles does not run ofi' the bobbin freely and with a uniformity of tension, thus causing the stitching to be uneven, some of the stitches being loose while others are drawn too tight. Another serious objection is that the tension device used scrapes the wax'from the thread, abrades and renders the thread knotty. These evils I remedy, and atthe Sametime obtain a direct-acting tension device, as follows: i, The sh utile box or shell a may be constructed somewhat in the form represented in Figs. 1, 2, 3, of the drawings, with one vertical side open to enable the removalof the bobbin b, and

with an opening, b', in its top, across which latter,extends transversely a round bar, c.

The opening b' is made of such a size that the waxed thread in passing ofi from baro will not, during the operation of the shuttle, touch orlscrape the edges ofthe case surrounding the opening. In the drawings, this openingis Fig. 4' is a vertical transverse sec-V represented as occupying nearly oue-half of the upper part ofthe shellof the shuttle above the bobbin b,wvith the bar @extending across it in a direction transversely of the length of the shuttle. Thus the thread can be passed directly up from the bobbin around lthe bar c, and thence to the work', without any liability of this thread impinging upon any abradingsurface. This bar c is secured rigidly to the shell a, and around it the waxed thread from the bobbin b is placed` asindicated in red lines, Fig. l. Within the shuttle-shell a is suitably secured a longitudinal bearingplat|e,d, (shown clearly in Fig. 3,) which has ears e formed on its end nearest the pointed end of the shell, to which ears is pivoted one endot' a stift' tensionlever, g. The opposite end of this lever has a hole drilled through it to receive a tensionscrew, h, which screws into the end of the fixed bearing-plate d, Fig.l 3, and thus forms a transverse connection between the heel ends of thc two plates d g, by means of which these ends can be brought nearer together or set'farther apart; or by detaching the screw h from the xed plate d the hinged lever g may be moved out to the position shown in Fig. 3 and indicated in red lines. The three parts (1,9, and h constitute an adjustable lever-frame for the cone-beariugs yi ot' the bobbin b, one of which bearings is stepped in a conical depression in the iixed plate d, and the other is stepped in a corresponding depression in the adjustable lever g, so that by setting the screw h up the bobbin will be tightened and the friction on its bearin gs increased, and by loosening the screw the opposite effect will be produced. The waxed thread is wound upon the bobbin aiid passed up'and around the transverse bar c, and thence to the needle, so that the thread is drawn around this horizontal bar casit passes off from the spool to thework, andthe bar being made round and sm0oth,it will have the effect of pressing the wax into the fibers of the thread and smoothing the thread, instead ot' scraping of the wax therefrom. The oblong -opening b through the top part of the shuttle is intenden to prevent the waxed thread from binding or coming in contact with the shell a in its reciprocating movements in the raceway, and the concave depression k, which is made in the top plate of the shuttle-box, allows a freeplay ofthe thread at this point. lhe op. posite edge ot' the opening b need not bede from scraping over the edge of the shuttle-box v a.. In this way and by this construction ot' a waxed-th read shuttle there will be no liability of injuring the thread, and a uniform tension of the thread can be maintained.

TheV shuttle which l have represented in.

Figs. 5 and 6 dil'ers troni th akt above described in the following particulars: the bobbin exf tends in a direction with the length of the shuttle-shell a, and hasits end bearings in one end of a solid block which is secured within the shell, and also in -a hinged plate which is attached to the opposite end-(inside) of the shell. This plate is acted upon by a tensionscrew, Whichis tapped through the blunt end of the shell a, so that the pressure upon the bearings ot' the bobbin can be increased or diminlshed by tighteningor loosening this screw; or by setting the screw some distance back the bobbin may he removed from the shell. I have merely shown these views in order to show how the rod or bar c may be applied to a shuttle which does not employ the particular lever-frame herein claimed.

Having thus describedv my invention, what l 1. A shuttle for waxed-thread sewing-machines, constructed with the hinged lever bobbin-frame and direct-acting tensionscre`w,sub

stantially as shown in Fig. 3, for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination and arrangement of a smooth transverse bar, c, opening b', formed as described, and bobbin b, whereby/I am enabled to obtain the desired tension 'on the thread, and while I pass the thread through the top ot' the shuttle preventthe scraping oli' ot the wax from the thread, substantially as described.

Witness my hand in the matter of my ap-v plication for a patent for improved sewingmachine shuttle. A y

THOMAS J. HALLIGAN.

Witnesses:

ALEX. ROCHE, R. T. CAMPBELL. 

